Poor rural districts may sue over funding

The fight for fair funding is not over for rural school districts in South Jersey.

In fact, a group of 16 schools districts, along with the Education Law Center, is threatening legal action if the state doesn't comply with a ruling that allowed for certain disadvantaged districts to receive additional aid under New Jersey's school funding formula.

The districts are part of the Bacon v. New Jersey Department of Education case that was introduced in the late '90s as a rural version of the Abbott case, which focused on funding poverty-ridden urban districts such as Vineland and Millville.

"It's time to ensure children in the Bacon districts receive a thorough and efficient education," said Frederick Jacob, a Millville attorney who sent a notice July 28 on behalf of the schools to acting state Attorney General John Hoffman.

"If the attorney general does not respond to our request in a timely and appropriate manner, we will have no choice but to go back to court," Jacob said.

The districts won a series of court rulings that in 2008 was the motivation behind the School Funding Reform Act, which was signed into law by then-Gov. Jon Corzine to get additional funding to poor non-Abbott school districts.

After enactment of that act, the Bacon districts received increases in K-12 formula aid in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

However, for the past three school years, the districts did not receive any of the funding increases required by the formula, according to the ELC.

School districts such as Buena Regional, Upper Deerfield and Maurice River claim they have been slighted for years despite the economic hardships they face. Most of the 16 districts are in very rural parts of Cumberland, Atlantic and Ocean counties.

"For years, we have been asking for the resources our students need and deserve to achieve success under the state and Common Core standards," Clayton Superintendent David Lindenmuth said. "Our schools are challenged by high poverty and mobility rates, but we continue to struggle with inadequate funding for teachers and staff, reduced class sizes, facilities and preschool programs."

ELC Executive Director David Sciarra said the children in these rural school districts have waited long enough for the resources they need to succeed in school.

"We simply cannot stand idly by while the state continues to violate the education rights of students in some of the poorest communities in our state," Sciarra said.

The state Department of Education had no comment.

At a glance

The schools districts threatening legal action are:

In Atlantic County — Buena Regional, Egg Harbor City and Hammonton

In Cumberland County — Commercial, Fairfield, Lawrence, Maurice River and Upper Deerfield